The best part about Nimble is that it is a tiny game. It is everything 5E should be in three thin OSE-sided books. The biggest criticism is a lack of utility spells, but since this is directly 5E-compatible, put those on scrolls and let players find (or buy) them, or rip them from the SRD or any 5E game you have on your shelf.
Other than that, this is a perfect, rules-light, fast-and-fun version of 5E. It scratches the 5E itch perfectly, and remains math-compatible with any 5E adventure. There are two questions here:
- If you like 5E, why not stick with that?
- Doesn't an old-school game do all this better?
A smaller version of 5E that doesn't take a thousand pages of reading and has all these interlocking and special action types? Sign me up, sanity has returned to modern gaming. We have a clean, three-action system here, and a combat engine that greatly reduces whiffs and worthless turns. It plays cleaner and faster than 5E, and that is a clear win for everybody.
And 5E has gotten too big. This is one tiny box of fun. There is a compelling argument for Nimble just in how bloated 5E has become as a game. You can design a smaller, more streamlined, and just as expressive game with a minimal set of rules. There is a point at which all the tropes of D&D hold 5E back, and Nimble managed to take the best of those tropes and craft a game around them.
Nimble tossed out all the D&D tropes, just like D&D 4E did, and ended up with a better game without all the baggage. If they had only gone this way with 4E, they would have had a winner. It makes me feel that the only true home for what we think of as "D&D" is the OSR.
That is the only place that can do it right.
But leave the new games free to innovate and create new, fun experiences like Nimble, Daggerheart, DC20, Pathfinder 2E, and Draw Steel. These are the "next generation" of gaming, here today.
D&D feels like it is trying to play catch-up with every new edition, stuck fixing legacy issues, and forced to support a boatload of spells, magic items, and options that are better left to the OSR. Otherwise, what? 6E will come along, trying to pander to nostalgia while being weighed down by a few thousand options they need to design around. It will not be a good game since they need to constantly pander and design backward, when they should be designing forward.
These new games are fantasy gaming reimagined.
And they are cool.
The second question is harder to answer, and depends on your tastes. Do you like the fantasy superhero-style play in 5E? Do you like the focus on battles and light narrative play, and not worrying about dungeon turns, burning torches, and wandering monsters? Do you just want to "get in the game and beat up monsters?" The larger-than-life heroes of 5E are replicated perfectly here, with iconic roles and amazing powers. The fights here are tactical and satisfying.
Or do you want less of an emphasis on superpowers and a more methodical and structured style of play where the over-the-top powers are turned down a few notches? Do you like the classic gameplay loop, the dungeon turns, the wandering monster checks, mapping, and the burning through of torches? This ain't it, and you will be happier with OSE.
This won't replace OSE for me. It can't. I like the old-school play too much. I grew up on it.
For me, Nimble replaces 5E. I feel good about playing this. I have fun. It is my "transition drug" away from VTTs and online character sheets. It shows that 5E can be a simple, fun, and focused game again. This is proof that 5E can be a better game for everybody. Nimble 5e gives me hope that 5E can be salvaged and built into a better game, one in a small box that does not need all these pages of rules and complicated action types. The 5E rules can be saved by great design and a lot of love and care.
And I am a huge fan of small games.
This year's crowdfunding will address the lack of native monsters and add more character options. I am looking forward to that release. As it is? A good game, solid and simple, very well put together, pulls in 5E monsters as much as you want, and it all works together nicely.
Nimble will compete with OSE, and that is an uphill battle. But I feel Nimble's design lets it compete and find a space in my game rotation. For adventure gaming that is 100% 5E math-compatible and has that rollicking band of epic heroes feeling, Nimble can find a compelling spot in my lineup. This is for those times when I don't want to follow the dungeon-turn structure too closely, and I just want to play the "battle adventure" style of game that 5E does so well.
Well, wants to do well, since 5E is bogged down in too many heavy rules and action types.
Nimble does it easier, faster, and without the messy character sheets that run a dozen pages long.
And this is a game so small that it seems to find a way to sneak onto my best-of-the-best shelves quite easily.
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